The One Where
by anas penelope
Summary: A series of loosely 30 Day OTP Challenge inspired fluff. Each chapter is a standalone story, and won't necessarily be in chronological order.


_So, here we stand at the start of this ridiculous quest to write shitloads of SQ fluff. All rules are out the window, chronological order is for losers, post-publish edits are always a possibility. Now, let's hit the road!_

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**...Regina Hates PDA**

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It would be quite the understatement to suggest that Regina Mills was not fond of public displays of affection. No, Regina Mills _detested _public displays of attention. She just could not see the need to flaunt something as private as one's love life in front of the rest of the world. Although, if she were to be completely honest with herself – something that happened unfortunately rarely – Regina was also just a little jealous. Her brief relationship with Daniel had needed to be a complete secret, after all, and since then… Well, she had never really been in any kind of a relationship that allowed for that sort of nauseating display of love. Of course, Regina being who she was, that jealousy was something she had buried so deep that even she herself had forgotten it existed, leaving only a distanced kind of disgust when she witnessed anything of the sort. Yes, Regina Mills detested public displays of affection just as happily now as she had when she first heard that stomach-churningly soppy declaration about "always finding each other".

That is, until Emma walked up to her in Granny's Diner one day and planted a quick kiss on her lips before wandering over to the bar for her morning coffee.

The silence that swept the diner was almost comical; suddenly, Regina could feel the eyes of what felt like every customer there staring at her. When she looked over to Emma in the hopes of a little help, she was, of course, cluelessly chattering away to Ruby, and while the latter was hiding her surprise better than most everyone else in the room, Regina could see that the coffee she was pouring was dangerously close to overflowing. When, after a few seconds, it became clear that her fellow customers had no intentions of returning to their breakfasts, Regina stood up wearily and followed Emma to the bar.

"A word, Miss Swan."

The sheriff jumped, not having expected Regina to join her.

"Regina? Weren't you in the middle of your breakfast?"

Regina didn't bother to reply, instead opting to roll her eyes and jerk her head ever so slightly in the direction of some of the more shameless members of their audience. Grumpy, for example, who was staring at the pair as if they had sprouted wings. After a second's confusion, understanding plastered itself over Emma's face.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Just let me get my coffee." Emma turned back to Ruby, who was furtively trying to clean the spilled coffee off the cup. Not feeling particularly inclined to wait for the blond to fumble around in search of change, Regina quickly pulled a five dollar note from her purse and dropped it on the counter, before plucking the coffee from Ruby's hands.

"Now."

Emma watched Regina stride out of the diner in shock, until Ruby prodded her not so gently on her arm.

"You should probably be following her, you know."

Nodding, Emma pulled herself together and started after Regina.

"Oh, and Emma?"

"Yeah?"

Ruby grinned. "I expect the full scoop at lunch."

With an exaggerated sigh, Emma opened the door and found Regina waiting for her outside, holding the coffee cup disdainfully.

"Well? What's the big deal?"

That earned her a full on Evil Queen glare.

"If you seriously believe, Miss Swan, that I intend to air our dirty laundry while we are still in eye and earshot of those… _commoners_, then I will seriously have to reconsider just how good an idea this whole mess is."

"Right. Yeah, I guess this maybe isn't the best place. But do you have to start with the whole 'Miss Swan' thing again?"

"For as long as you continue to be so insufferably annoying, then yes, I will continue to refer to you as 'Miss Swan'. I highly suggest you _deal with it_."

Emma looked down at her feet and said nothing, trying not to annoy Regina further. She achieved some degree of success, because Regina just shook her head and started walking, obviously expecting Emma to follow her. When they reached the black Mercedes, Regina silently handed Emma her coffee before unlocking the car and sliding into the driver's seat. Emma joined her, and they sat in silence for a moment while Regina fiddled with the heating settings, trying to banish the winter morning chill that had set in while she was at the diner. Once the temperature was more comfortable, Regina sat back in her seat for a second and Emma braced herself for the oncoming storm. Sure enough:

"What in hell's name was that?" Regina was never exactly one for beating around the bush. But then again, Emma rather liked that, especially on a certain evening earlier that week.

"It was just a kiss."

Emma's face was set in the most adorable pout as she replied. It wasn't dissimilar to the one Henry used when he was in trouble – genetics, Regina supposed – but it invoked a much different reaction from the brunette when it graced Emma's face. In fact, Regina was rather tempted to reach out and stroke her cheek, and pull her in for a slow, passionate…

_No, concentrate._

Regina shook the image from her brain, trying to remember why she had been so irritated in the first place. _Oh, the diner. Of course. _

"Just a kiss? That wasn't just a kiss, it was…" Regina's voice came to a sudden halt, and Emma gazed at her questioningly.

"It was…?"

"A _public display of affection_."

She held it in for a second, but in the end Emma couldn't help but burst out laughing at the sheer amount of venom in Regina's voice.

"What, you were embarrassed?"

"Of course not! It was just a completely inappropriate action for the setting. Especially considering the fact that we're not…"

"Not what? Together? Dating? Because that is usually the next logical step when two people admit to having feelings for each other and then have completely mind blowing sex."

Regina smirked. "Mind blowing, hmm?"

"Something like that. So, you know, I just kind of assumed that we were a thing now. Sorry if that's not the case." At the downcast look on Emma's face, Regina let her smirk fall.

"No, Emma, I didn't mean that. Only… Well, even if we are together, did we really have to broadcast it around town so soon? I'm not even used to the idea myself, yet, and given my… _history_, I can't exactly see people breaking out the champagne." As she spoke, Regina gave into desire and cupped Emma's cheek in her hand, smiling a little as the blond leaned into it.

"Oh. Right. Sorry, I guess that wasn't the smartest thing to do. It's just that I've been so happy these past couple of days that things might actually be working out for once, so when I saw you in the diner this morning… I don't know, I guess I just couldn't resist." Emma leaned gradually further forward as she was speaking, until she was almost nose to nose with Regina.

"Well, you certainly know how to make a woman feel wanted, I'll give you that." And then they were kissing, their lips pressed together lightly at first, enjoying the still unfamiliar feeling of each other's lips, before Emma let her tongue slide across Regina's lower lip, begging for entrance. Regina complied, and just as she started to put her arms around the blond woman-

Emma's phone started ringing.

They jumped apart in surprise, Emma mumbling apologies and curses as she tried to reach for the intruding object without spilling her coffee, Regina trying to hide the faint blush that had found its way onto her cheeks.

"Yeah, Sheriff Swan speaking, what's up?"

As Emma's conversation continued, Regina leaned against the window, trying to figure the last quarter of an hour out. First off, the town's gossip hub had just found out that she was in a relationship before even she was quite aware of it – how on earth was she going to deal with the fallout from that? Second, she was apparently in a relationship. Regina Mills, the woman who cursed an entire kingdom because of her last relationship. Honestly, she had no idea how she was going to deal with this either, but as she looked over at her- her _lover_ sitting in the passenger seat, groaning at whatever she was being told, Regina felt like she could at least try.

It only took a minute for Emma to finish the call, but she immediately leaned back in her seat with a tired sigh. At Regina's enquiring look, she conjured up all the bitterness she could and said "Pongo's run off again."

"Ah. Is that a frequent occurrence?"

"About once a week. He always picks somewhere hellishly muddy to wait for me, as well."

As Emma opened the door and started to get out of the car, she suddenly turned around.

"Why don't I walk you to the Town Hall? I can keep an eye out for Pongo on the way."

Regina considered the offer for a second. Her shoes weren't necessarily good for walking in, but on the other hand… "I suppose that isn't the worst idea you've ever had."

As they walked, Emma found herself concentrating far more on the way her hand kept brushing against Regina's than on looking for Pongo. Eventually, she gave in and shyly took Regina's hand in her own, answering the brunette's doubtful gaze with a shrug. "Ruby knows. That means that the entire town will know by the end of the day. So, you know, we might as well."

Accepting the logic behind Emma's words, Regina just enjoyed the sensation of closeness for a while before a thought struck her. Smirking gleefully, she looked at her lover.

"You do realise that that means Snow will also know by this evening?"

If the sight of the blood draining from Emma's face at the idea of the conversation she was going to have to have with her mother was amusing, it was nothing compared to the thought of the look on Snow's face when she realised her daughter was dating the Evil Queen.

"Shit."

After a second, Emma's face split into a smirk fit to match Regina's.

"You know what? I think I'll just stay at yours tonight. Much more worthwhile things to be doing there than at the loft."

Regina laughed.

"Oh yes, I'm sure I can distract you most thoroughly."

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_Feel free to call me out on any grammar/spelling mistakes (bearing in mind I'm using British English), and come find me on tumblr: anas-penelope_


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